Free Breakfast for Children
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Free Breakfast for School Children Program was a community service program run by the Black Panther Party. The Panthers would cook and serve food to the poor inner city youth of the area. Initiated in January 1969 at St. Augustine's Church in Oakland, California, the program became so popular that by the end of the year, the Panthers set up kitchens in cities across the nation, feeding over 10,000 children every day before they went to school.[1]
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[hide]Chicago[edit]
In Chicago, the leader of the Panthers local, Fred Hampton, led five different breakfast programs on the West Side, helped create a free medical center, and initiated a door to door program of health services which test for sickle cell anemia, and encourage blood drives for the Cook County Hospital. The Chicago party also reached out to local gangs to clean up their acts, get them away from crime and bring them into the class war. The Party's efforts met wide success, and Hampton's audiences and organized contingent grew by the day.[2]
Oakland City Hall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Oakland City Hall | |
|---|---|
_2.JPG) | |
| General information | |
| Type | Government offices |
| Location | 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza Oakland, California |
| Coordinates | 37.8053°N 122.2725°WCoordinates: 37.8053°N 122.2725°W |
| Construction started | 1910 |
| Completed | 1914 |
| Owner | Oakland, California |
| Height | |
| Roof | 97.23 m (319.0 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 18 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Palmer & Hornbostel |
Oakland City Hall
| |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
| NRHP Reference # | 83001170 |
| Designated NRHP | September 15, 1983 |
| References | |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
Oakland City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Oakland, California. The current building was completed in 1914, and replaced a prior building that stood on what is now Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Standing at the height of 320 feet (98 m), it was the firsthigh-rise government building in the United States.[5] At the time it was built, it was also the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.[6]
The building was designed by New York-based architecture firm Palmer & Hornbostel in 1910, after winning a nationwide design competition.[5] The building, constructed in theBeaux-Arts style, resembles a "rectangular wedding cake".[5] It consists of three tiers. The bottom tier serves the foundation. It is three-story tall and houses the mayor's office, the city council chamber, hearing rooms, and a police station with a firing range below in the basement. The thinner second tier follows; it is a ten-story tall office tower. The top floor of this section (the 12th floor) houses a 36-cell jail with an outdoor yard that has gone unused since the 1960s.[6] Above the second tier is the two-story tall podium with a clock tower on top.[5] The exterior is built using white granite and terra cotta, while the inside is built using white and black marble.[6] The building was nicknamed "Mayor Mott's wedding cake" after former Oakland Mayor Frank Kanning Mott, a key player in passing the bond to pay for the new City Hall, married the same year construction began.[5][6]
In 1983, the Oakland City Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[4]
After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the building suffered from major structural damage and was immediately closed down. Instead of tearing it down and replacing with a newer building, city leaders decided to retrofit it seismically. To do so, steel columns in the foundation were cut and they were replaced by rubber bearings. Steel beams were added to support the steel structure and concrete walls were added to support existing walls. The building can now move laterally 18-20 inches in an earthquake. The city hall was repaired along with the downtown revitalization project of building new office buildings. The repair project cost $85 million.[6]
Oakland Symphony
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | Shareston, Becky, Katy, Kelsey, Johno, Lauren, Clyde, Gray and make sure to tell Kelsey's little sisters too that My Older Sister Tam played in the Youth Symphony in Oakland back in the day!! |
| Oakland Symphony Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Oakland, California, USA |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Symphony Orchestra |
| Years active | 1933 - 1986 |
| Associated acts | Oakland Symphony Chorus Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra |
| Past members | Music Director Calvin Simmons 1979-1982 |
The Oakland Symphony Orchestra was a professional regional orchestra in Oakland, CA active between 1933 and 1986, when it collapsed in a high-profile labor dispute and bankruptcy. It is succeeded by the Oakland East Bay Symphony.
History[edit]
Founded initially as a volunteer community orchestra, the symphony professionalized in 1958 and became a union orchestra in 1965. Its home was the Oakland Civic Auditorium (now the Calvin Simmons Theatre, not open to the public). In the 1960s, the orchestra was noted for its commitment to new music under music director Gerhard Samuel, giving local and world premieres by such composers as Darius Milhaud, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Hans Werner Henze. In 1966, the orchestra received a $1M challenge grant from the Ford Foundation to build an endowment. By 1975, the orchestra's subscription sales equaled that of the larger San Francisco Symphony.
In 1972, the symphony purchased and restored the historic art deco Paramount Theatre, with donations from by prominent businessmen Steven Bechtel and Edgar F. Kaiser, Sr., who also served as board president. The 1973 restoration project was a critical success, receiving an award in 1981 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in recognition of the accomplishment. The orchestra could not raise sufficient funds for an operating endowment, and it sold the Paramount to the City of Oakland for $1 in 1975 in exchange for forty years of free rent.
Between 1971 and 1979, the orchestra was led by Harold Farberman, who programmed more traditional repertory and pushed the orchestra to expand its season. In 1979, the orchestra engaged Calvin Simmons, a young, rising African-American and Bay Area native, who was by all accounts a brilliant and exciting conductor. Simmons's true promise never came to fruition after he drowned in a tragic boating accident in 1982. The orchestra received the ASCAP award for adventurous programming in 1978 and 1982.
During Farberman's tenure with the Oakland Orchestra, there were concerns about his work as music director, and his difficult relationship with the orchestra. When his contract was to be renewed in 1977, the Players Committee expressed their profound dissatisfaction with his work, and the majority voted that his contract should not be renewed. The board of the orchestra decided to renew him against the wishes of the musicians.[1]
From the late 70's until its 1986 collapse, the orchestra mounted progressively larger deficits and used its entire endowment for current operations, becoming insolvent by 1984. In 1980, the nearby San Francisco Symphony had opened Davies Symphony Hall; although the Oakland Symphony failed to differentiate its programming and image, this was a relatively minor factor in its collapse. The Oakland orchestra guaranteed the musician's union more work than was demanded by East Bay audiences. Demanding greater parity with the San Francisco Symphony, the musicians went on strike from 1985, resulting in the cancellation of the season. Although the season was restored in 1986, the symphony promised more work to the musicians than it could afford. Turning down a demand for cutbacks, the musicians again went on strike and refused to accept concessions. The board retaliated by choosing to file for chapter 7 bankruptcy in September 1986.
The orchestra's legacy includes the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Oakland Symphony Chorus, both auxiliary ensembles that exist to this day. In 1988, the Oakland Symphony Orchestra League (originally the Orchestra Guild), formed a successor orchestra, the Oakland East Bay Symphony.
Historic Preservation
Oakland's wealth of historic buildings and neighborhoods is matched by few other California cities. These artifacts reflect the city's rich multicultural history, from earliest times to the present. The materials and workmanship used are impossible or costly to obtain today. Still, they serve as our homes, workplaces, and community centers. How can we protect our historic assets, while moving forward with today's needs?
- Historic Preservation Element
- Landmarks and Preservation Districts
- Mills Act
- Surveys and Rating System
- Rehab Right
Historic Preservation Element
In 1994 the City of Oakland adopted a Historic Preservation Element as part of its General Plan. The Element is based on two broad "Goals": to "use historic preservation to foster economic vitality and quality of life" and to "prevent unnecessary destruction of properties of special historical, cultural, and aesthetic value." The Element spells out these goals through policies and actions that govern how the City will treat "Designated Historic Properties" (DHPs: landmarks, districts, and Heritage Properties) and "Potential Designated Historic Properties" (PDHPs).
The City has adopted these policies because it believes historic preservation offers many important benefits:
The City has adopted these policies because it believes historic preservation offers many important benefits:
- Urban revitalization
- Employment opportunities
- Cost-effective affordable housing
- Economic development opportunities
- Community identity and image
- Educational, cultural, and artistic values.
Landmarks and Preservation Districts
Landmarks are the most prominent historic properties in the city. They may be designated for historical, cultural, educational, architectural, aesthetic, or environmental value. They are nominated by their owners, the City, or the public and are designated after public hearings by the Landmarks Board, Planning Commission, and City Council. Since the program began in 1973 about 150 individual landmarks and preservation districts have been designated, out of nearly 100,000 buildings in Oakland. These buildings, sites, and features range from City Hall to the home of blues legend Brownie McGhee, from the Old Survivor Redwood Tree to the Grand Lake Theater and Roof Sign. Click here, to read more about Landmark designations.
- Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board
- List of Designated Landmarks, Heritage Properties, and Preservation Districts
- Landmark, S-7/S20 Preservation Combining Zone, and Heritage Property Application Form
Mills Act
The Mills Act assists property owners in reaping the benefits of historic rehabilitation and preservation. It can reduce taxes for historic properties, if the owners volunteer to repair and maintain the historic character of their property.
For more information, download the Mills act brochure:
Mills Act Documents & Resources
- (MODEL) MILLS ACT AGREEMENT
- Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation
- Minimum Property Maintenance Standards
- Mills Act Application
- Mills Act: (Sections 50280-90 of the California Government Code and Article 1.9, Sections 439 - 439.4 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code)
- Mills Act Calculator
Property owners should consult legal counsel and/or a financial adviser before entering into a Mills Act agreement. The city makes no warranties or representations about the accuracy or validity of the Mills Act Property Tax Calculator - it is merely an information tool that applicants may use (at their sole risk), which does not substitute/replace legal counsel or a financial adviser.
Surveys and Rating System
The Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey (OCHS) is a general survey of every visible building in Oakland. It contains estimates on building age and possible historical or architectural interest. The survey also includes detailed research and evaluation for many specific buildings and neighborhoods. The OCHS staff maintain:
- an extensive library of information on historic properties and districts in Oakland
- Oakland Historic Property listings
A reconnaissance or "windshield survey" of the entire city was completed in 1997. Field surveyors from the City Planning Department drove every street and rated every visible building with a preliminary estimate of its age and its possible historical or architectural interest. In addition, many buildings and neighborhoods have been researched and evaluated in more detail ("intensive survey") by the Planning Department's Cultural Heritage Survey project. All this information is available to the public as well as to city staff.
For more information or to view the survey, contact Betty Marvin, Planner at the Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, (510) 238-6879 or visit the Historical and Architectural Rating System page.